SAD NEWS FROM PITHIVIERS Burial ceremony last Saturday
Alain Elambert ,the former President of the AMTP, died in April 2020 .Alain was at the head of the association from 1999 to 2017. He joined the AMTP in 1984 and became a member of the BOD in the late 80's. He was the one that proposed to the AMTP and to the small town of Pithiviers le Viel to lay out the site of the end station Béllébat a disused military field. The site was on the territory of that townlet whose Alain was the deputy mayor. His proposal was accepted and after a tremendous amount of backstage work that took Alain busy for several years the works started in late 1994. A beautiful station was built and the track was extended in a wide loop around the site, a lot of trees and bushes were planted on. In June1996 the dedication of the station and of the new layout were held on the occasion of the30th anniversary of the AMTP. Thirty six years later, all due to Alain Elambert, the site of Bellébat is now a nice restful shady place in the greenery and it looks like an oasis in the middle of the treeless and bleak plain of the Beauce.
Alain had wished his cinders were thrown into a steam locomotive firebox and scattered through the stack all over the engine shed yard and along the main. Unfortunately given the C19 pandemic and other circumstances Alain's cindesr have had to wait untill last Saturday when a touching ceremony took place on the engine shedyard during which his son threw the cinders into the firebox of the Brigadelok whose blower was fully open. Afterward a special took to Bellébat Alain's family,friends and quite a lot of AMTP's volunteers around 100 riders altogether. In the station a reception was held and speeches were made to pay tribute to Alain and his work. RIP Alain. A picture taken in 2015 of the two bearded Alain ,Alain Elambert is on the left.